Course

Veterinary Nursing 3

Faculty
Science & Technology
Department
Veterinary Technology
Course code
VTEC 2303
Credits
4.00
Semester length
15 weeks + Practicum + Internship
Max class size
30
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Lab
Practicum
Typically offered
Winter

Overview

Course description
In this course students will learn and practice advanced veterinary nursing skills. Skills acquired in Veterinary Nursing 1 and 2 will be reviewed and further developed. Advanced drug dosing, fluid administration, constant rate infusion (CRI) and transfusion calculations will be practiced. Students will gain experience in client and workplace communication. Emergency and critical care nursing will be emphasized along with the medical record keeping needed for these disciplines. Ward and hospital management will be discussed from a veterinary technologist's perspective. Palliative care, oncology and toxicology will be reviewed.

Course content

The major topics in this course include the following:

  1. In-clinic laboratory:
    - skills needed to set up and use an in-clinic laboratory
    - use sample handling techniques to achieve optimal diagnostic results
    - use and maintain advanced blood analysis equipment
  2. Advanced nursing care and diagnostic techniques
    - diagnostic procedures including thoracocentesis, abdominocentesis and bone marrow collection
    - advanced monitoring and procedures such as ECG, jugular catherters, PICC lines, central blood pressure, blood transfusions
    - medical record keeping in all aspects of practice
  3. Emergency Medicine
    - management of veterinary emergencies
    - CPCR and other emergency techniques
  4. Critical Care
    - the transition of a patient from emergency care to critical care
    - the role of the veterinary technologist in the care of the critical patient
  5. Workplace communications
    - build upon the skills learned in administrative procedures courses to improve client communication, problem solving, conflict resolution and interpersonal skills
  6. Career opportunities for the veterinary technologist
    - various career opportunities will be explored through visits to private and publically owned facilities
Learning activities

This course includes six hours of classroom and laboratory instruction per week with additional practicum placements.

Means of assessment

The instructor will present a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria at the beginning of the semester. A final minimum cumulative grade of “C” or 60% is required (in both lecture and lab components) in order to pass this course. Evaluation will be based on quizzes and assignments, practical evaluations including a final practical examination, at least one midterm and a final written examination.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

  1. Perform emergency and critical care nursing techniques for small animals.
  2. Discuss hospital design, work flow and principals affecting ward hygiene and infection control.
  3. Review and practice effective workplace communication.
  4. Maintain veterinary nursing records for small animal general nursing, emergency and critical care.
  5. Discuss the legal implications of the medical record.
  6. Design and implement quality control plans and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the veterinary hospital.
  7. Discuss the variety of potential career opportunities available to the veterinary technologist.
Textbook materials

A list of required and optional textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of each semester.

Requisites

Prerequisites

Successful completion of Year 1 of the Veterinary/Animal Health Technology Program

Corequisites

None

Equivalencies

None

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for VTEC 2303
There are no applicable transfer credits for this course.

Course Offerings

Winter 2025